>It pretends biology and electrochemistry aren't playing some important role 'statistics' cannot.
But the issue here isn't about modelling the human, it's about learning a model that captures understanding. To assume that human or animal biology is necessary for understanding is a big leap that isn't supported by the evidence. For one, the relevance of biology and electrochemistry appears to be to influence the function of neurons in various ways. So there's no reason to think that this influence cannot be captured by a model driven by statistical relationships.
But the issue here isn't about modelling the human, it's about learning a model that captures understanding. To assume that human or animal biology is necessary for understanding is a big leap that isn't supported by the evidence. For one, the relevance of biology and electrochemistry appears to be to influence the function of neurons in various ways. So there's no reason to think that this influence cannot be captured by a model driven by statistical relationships.